Western-friendly gulf nations urged to stop violence spread

After bombing in Qatar, states are told attacks may hurt tourism

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - Qatar and other energy-rich countries of the Persian Gulf are some of the most crime-free places on Earth and among the most friendly to U.S. interests.

Even so, anti-Western feelings are on the rise, and with a Saudi crackdown on terror pushing militants into neighboring countries, observers say the gulf states must act fast to prevent more bombings like Saturday's theater blast in Doha to halt serious damage to the region's appeal to Western tourists, residents and business.

"If the Qataris can dismantle this cell quickly and prove they are effective, I don't think this will have a great impact on expatriates or tourism," said Mustafa Alani, a terrorism analyst at the Gulf Research Center in Dubai.

But if the investigation founders or if attackers strike again soon, "this will undermine credibility. A lot of people will hesitate to come to the gulf," Alani said.

A Briton, Jonathan Adams, was killed in the suicide car bombing Saturday night. A dozen others, including six Qataris, a Briton, an Eritrean and a Somali, were injured, Qatari officials said.

Qatari authorities identified the charred body of a suicide bomber inside the vehicle as Omar Ahmed Abdullah Ali. The officials said the Egyptian detonated his explosives-packed car behind the Doha Players Theater during a production of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.

The attack has brought normally bucolic Qatar into an unappealing club.

Now, only one of the six Gulf Cooperation Council states — the United Arab Emirates — has yet to experience attacks or public crackdowns after thwarted terror plots. The other states are Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain.

Saturday's blast in Doha came on the second anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq. Many believe it was launched at the behest of Saleh al-Aoofi, al-Qaida's leader in the gulf, who urged militants last week to attack "crusaders" throughout the gulf, including Qatar.

"These groups want to show they can attack any target in any state," Alani said. "They've proved they have sleeping cells in these countries and they can activate them when they want."